Downsville is a

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts of incorporated places, such ...

(CDP), and former

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

in the town of

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian. Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colches ...

, Delaware County,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, United States. The population was 617 at the 2010 census.

History

It is the site of the Downsville Bridge, a covered bridge, and the historic Union Free School. Both are listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

. Downsville is named for Abel Downs, who had a

tannery Tanning may refer to: *Tanning (leather), treating animal skins to produce leather *Sun tanning, using the sun to darken pale skin **Indoor tanning, the use of artificial light in place of the sun **Sunless tanning, application of a stain or dye t ...

there. The hamlet is located on the East Branch of the Delaware River. A dam on this portion of the river, at Downsville, was completed by workers paid for by

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

in 1954, creating the

Pepacton Reservoir The Pepacton Reservoir, also known as the Downsville Reservoir, is a reservoir in Delaware County, New York on the East Branch of the Delaware River in the Catskill Mountains of New York. Part of the New York City water supply system, it was fo ...

, which is part of the New York City water supply system. The Delaware and Northern Railroad ran south of town. There was a station on Depot Street. Downsville Central School, located on Maple Avenue, serves families from the surrounding areas, including municipalities as far away as East Branch. Downsville Central School's colors are purple and white and their mascot is the Eagle.

Geography

Downsville is located in the northern part of the town of Colchester, along Downs Brook just north of its confluence with the

East Branch Delaware River The East Branch Delaware River is one of two branches that form the Delaware River. It is approximately 75 mi (121 km) long, and flows through the U.S. state of New York. It winds through a mountainous area on the southwestern edge of Ca ...

. New York State Route 30 passes through the hamlet, leading southwest to the hamlet of East Branch at

NY 17 New York State Route 17 (NY 17) is a major state highway that extends for through the Southern Tier and Downstate regions of New York in the United States. It begins at the Pennsylvania state line in Mina and follows the Southern T ...

, and east along the

to Margaretville.

New York State Route 206 New York State Route 206 (NY 206) is a state highway in the Southern Tier of New York in the United States. It runs through some lightly populated regions along the state's southern border, from Central New York to the Catskills. It beg ...

leads northwest from Downsville to

Walton Walton may refer to: People * Walton (given name) * Walton (surname) * Susana, Lady Walton (1926–2010), Argentine writer Places Canada * Walton, Nova Scotia, a community ** Walton River (Nova Scotia) *Walton, Ontario, a hamlet United Kingdo ...

and southeast to NY 17 at Roscoe. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the Downsville CDP has a total area of , of which is land and , or 1.97%, is water.

Demographics

References

External links

Old photo of Downsville
Former villages in New York (state) Census-designated places in Delaware County, New York Census-designated places in New York (state) Hamlets in Delaware County, New York Hamlets in New York (state) {{DelawareCountyNY-geo-stub